Now that God of War III has been unleashed upon the masses, die-hard fans have been wringing every last red orb out of the game. Enthusiasts of the series are curious about where things go from here. Some have even made bold claims of hidden messages within some of the original God of War’s unlockable videos suggesting a new God of War game may feature a hero suited more for modern warfare rather than ancient savagery. However, Atlantis has been an area of interest for the team at Sony Santa Monica for some time now.
Often as a game is starting to take shape characters, bosses, events, and even whole levels will find their way to the cutting room floor. The original God of War was supposed to feature the Icarus Wings. There wasn’t time available to polish the feature as well as the rest of the product, so we had to wait for God of War II. God of War II was supposed to feature the multifaceted Chimera, but the PS2 just wasn’t a powerful enough platform to pull off the complex animations and character AI. There have been countless cut assets throughout the series, but one area in particular really stuck out in my mind after playing God of War III for a third time.
Next to Mount Olympus, Atlantis is probably one of the most recognizable places of legendary ancient Greece. The mythical lost city has long inspired the imaginations of authors, songwriters, artists, etc. Those familiar with the God of War series may recall the God of War II bonus materials including a video about the levels that did not make the retail release. One such level was Atlantis, and as you can see in the video below, while the level was far from prime time, it had certainly left the infancy of a concept.
Atlantis was going to be an entire world in the game [God of War II] and we lost that one too unfortunately, maybe it will come back some other day.
– Stig Asmussen
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IumQKLhjjd0[/youtube]
Here is some additional concept art from the lead artist, Cecil Kim. As you can see the ambition for this area is quite high and it’s interesting that Stig referred to this as a world and not a level, as the area does appear to be quite massive.
So what does this all have to do with God of War III? During the boss fight with Poseidon, he talks some godly trash, telling Kratos that he is bound to failure and in general praising the power of the gods. At a certain point in the battle with Poseidon, he makes direct mention of Atlantis in a manner that suggests that Poseidon and Kratos have some history there. While this may sound like a stretch, it is not uncommon for the series to foreshadow itself in such a manner.
The recently revealed Spartans Stand Tall teaser site could even play into this. This was discovered by receiving the Platinum Trophy for God of War III. Obviously this site is proof positive that Sony Santa Monica isn’t quite done with Kratos yet. A week later the site is now pouring rain with the “timer” filled about half-way. This would be an awful lot of trouble to go through just for some “alternate ending” or costume related content. God of War: Chains of Olympus was teased very much in the same manner.
Additionally, what appears to be the Greek letter Lambda could very well be a stylized A. We will have to wait to see what the rain reveals.
